post 13

• As 99 became as sybibymous with Wayne as as the black mask is to the Lone Ranger, People started slapping 99 on items coloured in shades of orange and blue that looked suspiciously like the colours of the Edmonton Oilers.
• One of the things Wayne has always tried to do with his outside activities is to get the family invovled wherever possible. Keith did 2 national commercials with him for 7-up. All 3 boys appeared with him in advertisements for Jofa, the hockey equipment manufacturer.
• Nike had signed a 5 year deal with Wayne to endorse its footwear, which is quite a thing when you consider that Nike doesn't manufacture skates or any other piece of hockey equipement. The company had also made a deal with the Oilers in whcih the company would provide the team with their uniform sweaters, and the sweaters would carry the Nike logo.
• The Neilson chocolate people put out a series of 50 Wayne Gretzky player cards, each with a different photo of Wayne on the front and some information or a hockey tip on the back, inside their Mr. Big chocolate bar packages. In New York, in 1983, collectors were offering $900 for a complete set! Wait till they find out there's going to be 49 more to make it 99.
• Every 3 months some people at the University of Alberta run a random sample of 2000 letters, breaking them into age group, sex and point of origin.
• Then there are the people who think they've got troubles.
• A year or so ago a magazine article on the family made mention of the fact that the fan mail had grown so heavy that Wayne's girlfriend, Vickie, and her mother, Sophie<>
• Wayne does contribute to many charities - more than anyone hears about, including us.
• Somewhere on the road Wayne has donated an appearance fee or something personal that can be used to generate money for a worthwhile cause.